European Commission plans to install a three year destruction scheme for cattle born before August 1st 1996 will help to stabilise the UK suckler herd after subsidy decoupling - if they are approved by the EU Agriculture Council, the National Beef Association said today.

It has welcomed confirmation from UK agriculture ministers that the Commission has put forward a proposal to contribute 50 per cent of the compensation paid on cattle not able to enter the food chain - and to conduct the scheme over a three year period.

"Important sections in the jig-saw of regulation that will establish how the UK adjusts to long anticipated changes in the OTMS rule continue to be pieced together and news that the Commission has responded positively to pressure from both the UK industry and UK governments to put forward the outline for a sensibly constructed OTMS successor is another positive development," explained NBA chief executive, Robert Forster.

"The NBA was among the organisations that first of all worked hard to persuade Defra that an OTMS successor scheme that only lasted a year would critically undermine suckler herd structures and then work with Defra to persuade the Commission to see the sense of a three year long arrangement."

"A critical part of the draft regulation that is expected to be put before either the June or July meetings of the Agriculture Council is the intention for the EC to contribute 50 per cent of the compensation paid on pre-August 1996 born animals - and that these payments will be based on anticipated market value."

According to the NBA the establishment of both a three year replacement for the OTMS and market based compensation will help to maintain confidence in suckler beef production.

"Defra has estimated that there may be as many as 700,000 cows born before August 1996 are still on farm and it would have been a structural disaster if these had to be concertinaed through a one, or two, year age based destruction scheme because they represent a significant fraction of the 1.7 million strong UK sucker herd," said Mr Forster.

"We are also looking forward to discussing with Defra our ideas on how a market based compensation formula for these pre-August 1996 cows can be constructed."

"If the scheme that has been outlined is adopted by Agriculture Ministers it is something to look forward to and if it is accompanied by news that the OTM rule change will take place sometime in early autumn the outlook will be even more encouraging."

"Much still depends on whether a recommendation that the brain testing system installed in abattoirs handling post-August 1996 cattle should be adopted will be put before the FSA Board on July 5th."

"If it is a mid-October rule change is likely and cows will then be able to move onto the commercial market."

"However if it is delayed then their delivery will be too and breeders thinking of holding back their younger barren cows this autumn, instead of putting them in-calf, should be aware of this possibility," Mr Forster added.